1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to security techniques for customer accessible databases.
2. Background Art
Pharmacies and wholesale pharmaceutical outlets have engaged various tools to evaluate their market share and monitor other key performance indicators in their national or local operating areas. One approach is to access company data, e.g., dispensed prescriptions, cash pricing, managed care contract rates, and generic dispensing ratios, and to compare that to industry standard market measures. For example, a pharmacy chain might determine their own company's prescription dispensing growth is 3% in the Philadelphia market, while the overall prescription volume is growing at 8%, and therefore determine that the chain is losing market share.
In general, such pharmaceutical outlets treat their own market performance information to be a highly protected trade secret. Accordingly, there exists a need for a technique which provides a secure environment to provide information services to these chains, in a cost-effective manner, while protecting the confidentiality of these data, and reducing opportunity for error or corruption in the data.